Penang has soared under the Barisan Nasional when Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon was the Chief Minister for 18 years.

The state’s economy improved by leaps and bounds under the BN administration that he helmed. There were various infrastructure projects including the on-going Second Penang Bridge and the Mengkuang Dam expansion project. These projects showed the federal government’s commitment to bringing the state’s economy to a higher level.

Brushing aside claims by some quarters, Dr Koh, who is now Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (National Unity and Performance Management) said the Barisan Nasional had been instrumental in transforming Penang for the past 40 years.

“There is no reason for anyone to doubt the rapid economic development and influx of investment brought in about under the BN administration,” the state Barisan Nasional chairman said at the State Gerakan headquarters on Monday before chairing a meeting with BN leaders.

Dr Koh, who is also Gerakan president, said the BN had laid a strong foundation for the economic growth of Penang.

He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun razak would be announcing a new initiative by a multi-national company which had a base in Penang during his current trip to New York.

This company, Dr Koh said, has been in Penang since the 1970s, and in the 1990s its growth reached global standards.

“This is also due to the various incentives by Mida. I also played a role, for example, I telephoned them… a few days ago I was also on the phone with them, and I have asked them to bring more investments to Penang,” Dr Koh added.

He explained that the increased investments in Penang state were mainly due to the efforts and promotion of government agencies like Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida) with the assistance of the federal government.

Dr Koh said the Penang BN was previously “too shy” to show off its efforts. But now, it felt it should explain the real situation to the people.

This is not merely to gain credit for BN, but to tell the people that it is not easy to attract investment, unless it is with the cooperation of various sectors.

He stressed the unfairness of being accused of being Penang’s chief minister of 18 years that saw scarce development within the state.

“It is not fair at all for those who had been working very hard for Penang, for example, the engineers, who had managed to turn the state from a labour-intensive workforce to one that is high-tech,” he said.

“Let’s be fair – to say we have gone backwards, is totally unfair and not the reality.

“We would feel it even if we suffered a recession for 18 months, so to say that nothing has happened for 18 years, (that) we would have backslided to the backwaters, which is not the case,” he added.

Dr Koh said he was issuing the clarification to reply to the many criticisms that were leveled against him and the BN, adding that this was the Pakatan Rakyat government’s “main strategy”.

It is a wrong strategy to continue criticising the BN, he added, as there are many good examples of what the previous state government had done to develop Penang prior to 2008.

“We (Penang) still maintain and have improved our competitiveness in the midst of severe competition in the global market,” he added.

Dr Koh added that all policies and programmes initiated by the BN would be based on the 1Malaysia concept.

Since Najib became Prime Minister, Dr Koh added, there have been changes and transformation in various sectors. As a result, Malaysia now ranks the 10th most competitive country globally.

As for transformation, Dr Koh said Penang has seen improvements even in sectors such as crime rate which is part of the national initiative driven by the Government Transformation Programme through the six national key results areas.

On another matter, Dr Koh reaffirmed BN’s commitment to the ‘politics of moderation’ and its rejection of all forms of extremism.

“In any democratic country, there are bound to be many voices, but these may not represent the BN or the government’s views,” he said.

“We must continue to stand firm to promote moderation.”

Dr Koh also remarked that being in the opposition in Penang has not been a picnic for the BN, which lacks experience in the role.

However, with a proper strategy, BN can actually benefit from the dual role that it plays as the opposition in the state and the government at the federal level. Dr Koh also warned Gerakan leaders against hoping to contest in the coming general elections if they did not perform satisfactorily.

“If a BN coordinator does not perform well or is not well received by the people, he or she does not necessarily have the chance to contest in the election,” Dr Koh added.